Twenty-four, adult, female Beagles were arranged by body weight from greatest to least and allocated to 2 groups of 12 dogs, using random numbers. Dogs were housed collectively in 2 adjacent metal buildings, each divided into 4 rooms measuring 2.1 X3.7 m. Each room was paneled and carpeted and had an access door to the outside with a connecting run that measured 2.1 X 9.1 m. Each run had a surface consisting of 5 cm of pea gravel overlayng 5 cm of sand, and was partially covered by an awning that provided shade at its proximal end. For placement in room/run units, dogs in each of the treated and control groups were allotted to 4 subgroups of 3 dogs each. Each subgroup of dogs was placed in a separate room/run unit. Units containing treatment or control subgroups were alternated to avoid placing identically treated subgroups adjacent to each other. Dogs of subgroups A, C, E, and G were treated with lufenuron monthly at a minimal target dosage of 10 mg/kg of body weight; those of subgroups B, D, F, and H were treated with excipient tablets. Dogs were treated on study days 7, 37, 68, and 98. Each dog was infested with 100 newly emerged, unfed, insectary-reared adult Ctenocephalides felis on each of study days 0 and 2. Thereafter, infestations on all dogs were dependent on continued development of fleas either in the indoor or outdoor environment. Numbers of fleas on each of the treated and control dogs were determined, using a nondestructive counting technique on days 6, 14, 21, 28, 35, 56, 70, 84, 98, 112, and 119. On study day 21 and on each collection day thereafter, numbers of adult fleas recovered from treated dogs were significantly (P < 0.05) fewer than those recovered from control dogs. Proportion reduction of fleas on treated vs control dogs exceeded 90% by study day 35 and 95% by study day 56. Efficacies exceeded 95% on all remaining study days except days 98 (94.4% and 119 (90%). Results of this study indicate that control of flea populations can be achieved in treated dogs approximately 4 to 5 weeks after initial treatment with lufenuron, and that continued monthly treatments will maintain effective control of flea infestations. Adverse reactions or side effects to treatment with lufenuron were not observed in dogs after treatment at any time throughout the study.

Thirty-two mixed-breed male and female cats were blocked by sex, arranged by body weight from greatest to least, and allocated to 4 groups of 8 (4 male, 4 female) cats, using random numbers. Cats in each of 3 groups were treated orally with a 7% suspension formulation of lufenuron at dosage of 15, 30, or 45 mg/kg of body weight. Cats in the fourth group were treated orally with an excipient suspension without lufenuron. Cats were infested with newly emerged, unfed cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis felis) on days -7 and -3 before treatment and at approximately weekly intervals after treatment. Flea eggs were collected from beneath each cat on selected days before and after treatment and placed in an artificial rearing medium. Flea eggs and medium were kept for 35 days in an insectary to determine effects of lufenuron or excipient suspension on emergence of adults of the F1 generation. Lufenuron was 100% effective in inhibiting development of C felis at all dosages for 11 days after treatment. Thereafter, efficacy exceeded 92% in all dosages groups, On day 32, when the study was terminated, efficacy for each of the dosage groups was: 15 mg/kg, 95.2%; 30 mg/kg, 98.2%; and 45 mg/kg, 99.6%. Adverse reactions or side effects were not observed in cats, regardless of treatment dosage.

Pruritic skin diseases are common in cats and demand rigorous diagnostic workup for finding an underlying etiology. Measurement of a serum allergen-specific IgE in a pruritic cat is often used to make or confirm the diagnosis of a skin hypersensitivity disease, although current evidence suggests that elevated allergen-specific IgE do not always correlate with a clinical disease and vice versa. The aim of the study was to to assess the possible influence of age, deworming status, lifestyle, flea treatment, and gender on allergen-specific IgE levels and to evaluate the reliability of IgE testing in predicting the final diagnosis of a pruritic cat. For this purpose sera of 179 cats with pruritus of different causes and 20 healthy cats were evaluated for allergen-specific IgE against environmental, food and flea allergens using the Fc-epsilon receptor based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The results of the study showed positive correlation between age, outdoor life style, absence of deworming, absence of flea control measures and levels of allergen-specific IgE. Gender and living area (urban versus rural) did not seem to affect the formation of allergen-specific IgE. According to these findings, evaluating allergen-specific IgE levels, is not a reliable test to diagnose hypersensitivity to food or environmental allergens in cats. On the contrary, this test can be successfully used for diagnosing feline flea bite hypersensitivity.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides spp. on kennelled dogs, seasonal prevalence and mean numbers and percentages of immature and adult ticks and of fleas recovered from various sites on dogs

The aim of this study is to determine the incidences of Malassezia infection and flea allergy in dogs with dermatitis complaints which were brought to veterinarians for examination in Ankara and Kırıkkale provinces. Materials and Methods: The material for this study consists of 40 pet dogs of different breeds genders and ages found in Ankara and Kırıkkale provinces of Turkey. Malassezia examination was conducted by staining smear samples taken with the acetate band method with Modified Wright’s Stain method. Flea existency examination was performed by using a flea comb.Out of the 40 dogs with dermatitis which were included in this study, 6 dogs (15%) were found to have Malassezia infection, 12 dogs (30%) were found to have flea infestation and 4 dogs (10%) were found to have together.In light of the results that were found in this study, Malassezia and flea infestation hold an important place for dogs which were brought with complaints of dermatitis to veterinary clinics for examination in Ankara and Kırıkkale provinces. Clinical veterinarians must keep in mind that, there is high incidence rates of these 2 dermatitis causing agents and also remember to especially consider them in the list of differential diagnosis.

The aim of this case presentation is to report ectoparasites detected in one red fox. The adaptation of red foxes to urban environments and their increasing number result in an increased risk of transmission of some ectoparasites and pathogens originating from ectoparasites to humans and domestic animals. In this study, one red fox (Vulpes vulpes) which was after a traffic accident was examined for ectoparasites in the Clinic of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Veterinary. A total 14 flies, 13 ticks and 4 fleas were collected from the red fox. As a result of the microscopic examinations of ectoparasites, Hippobosca longipennis (9 ♀, 5 ♂), Rhipicephalus turanicus (8 ♀, 5 ♂), Ctenocephalides felis (1 ♀) and Pulex irritans (2 ♀, 1 ♂) were identified. With this study, Hippobosca longipennis was recorded from foxes for the first time in Turkey.

Objective: To determine whether the reported drug-drug interaction between the flea medication spinosad and ivermectin is attributable to inhibition of P-glycoprotein by spinosad. Animals: 6 healthy adult dogs with the ABCB1 wildtype genotype. Procedures: The study was conducted as a prospective, masked, randomized crossover design. Six dogs were allocated to 2 groups; each dog served as its own control animal. Dogs in one of the groups received spinosad at the manufacturer's recommended dose; the other group received no treatment. Forty-eight hours later, scintigraphic imaging of the head and abdomen were performed with the radiolabeled P-glycoprotein substrate methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile (sestamibi) in both groups of dogs. After a washout period of 60 days, the dogs in each group received the alternate treatment, and scintigraphic imaging again was performed 48 hours later. Gallbladder-to-liver and brain-to-neck musculature ratios of technetium Tc 99m sestamibi were calculated for each dog and compared between treatments. Results: No significant differences in gallbladder-to-liver or brain-to-neck musculature ratios were found between treatments. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Results provided evidence that spinosad did not inhibit P-glycoprotein function 48 hours after spinosad was administered at the manufacturer's recommended dose. Further investigations will be necessary to elucidate the mechanism of the reported toxic interaction between spinosad and ivermectin.